An Honest Family Guide to Going Electric (From a Family With One EV and One That Isn't)

We did not buy an electric car to make a statement. We bought it because the math worked, because we drive a predictable daily distance, and because — if we were honest about it — it was time to do something more than talk about caring about these things. It’s been about two years. The second car is still a regular combustion engine. This is not a piece about how everyone should switch immediately. It’s about what we’ve actually experienced, with one of each.

What actually changed when we got the EV

The biggest change is where you think about charging rather than refuelling. With a petrol car, you fill up when the gauge gets low and you pass a station. With an EV, you mostly charge at home, overnight, and arrive each morning with a full “tank.” For our daily driving — school run, shops, commute, errands — we almost never stop at a public charger. The car charges while we sleep. After about a week, this becomes completely normal and actually more convenient than stopping at a petrol station.

The second change is the cost. We drive on electricity that costs a fraction of petrol per mile — roughly three to four times cheaper at current rates, depending on where you are and what you pay for electricity. Our household electricity bill went up. Our combined fuel and electricity spending went down noticeably.

The third change: no oil changes. No transmission fluid. Fewer moving parts, less maintenance. The brakes last longer because regenerative braking does most of the work. In two years we’ve had the tyres rotated and replaced a cabin air filter. That’s it.

The things that are genuinely different, not just an adjustment

Range anxiety is real for the first few months, then it mostly isn’t. The worry that you’ll run out of charge before you get somewhere affects almost everyone who switches. Then you realise that you start every day with a full charge, that your daily driving is far less than the range, and that public charging infrastructure — at least in Seattle and most metro areas — is extensive enough for the rare longer trip. The anxiety fades into a low background awareness that’s not much different from watching the petrol gauge.

Long road trips require planning. This is the most honest limitation. We drove to Portland last year. We stopped once at a fast charger for about 25 minutes. It worked fine, but it’s a stop that doesn’t exist with a petrol car, and the planning — which chargers are working, is there a queue — is a real cognitive overhead that doesn’t exist for combustion. For most of our driving, this never comes up. For a family that does long road trips regularly, it’s a genuine consideration.

Cold weather affects range. Not dramatically, but noticeably. In January, our stated range dropped by about 10-15%. We’ve never been stranded by this, but it’s worth knowing.

Why the second car is still combustion

Partly cost — replacing a perfectly functional car before it’s worn out is its own environmental and financial waste. The most sustainable car is usually the one you already own. Partly that our second car gets used differently — more variable distances, occasional longer trips. And partly that we wanted to understand EV ownership before committing fully.

We’ll replace it when its time comes. That’s probably the right approach for most families: electrify when you’re replacing, not before.

The environmental question — honestly

EVs are better for the environment than combustion cars in most places. The full-lifecycle calculation — including manufacturing, battery production, and the electricity used to charge — comes out in the EV’s favour in most of the US grid, and clearly in the Pacific Northwest where most of the electricity comes from hydropower. The battery production has real environmental costs. Those costs are front-loaded and then amortised over the life of the car.

It’s not zero-impact. Nothing is. But on balance, for a family with a predictable daily driving pattern in a mid-range climate, the case for electrification is solid.

Practical things worth knowing before you buy

A Level 2 home charger is worth installing. The standard cable that comes with most EVs plugs into a regular 110V outlet and charges slowly — maybe 30-40 miles of range overnight. A Level 2 charger runs on 240V (the same circuit as your dryer or oven) and adds 20-30 miles of range per hour of charging. Most EVs come with nearly a full charge overnight on Level 2. We installed ours when we got the car and it’s been essential.

Look at used EVs. The depreciation on early EVs was steep, which is unfortunate for original owners and useful for everyone else. A three-year-old Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan Leaf, or Tesla Model 3 can be significantly cheaper than its new equivalent and still have plenty of battery life. Many come with remaining manufacturer warranties on the battery.

Check the federal tax credit before buying. The Inflation Reduction Act includes credits of up to $7,500 for new EVs and $4,000 for used — subject to income limits and vehicle price caps. This is worth investigating with an accountant; it can change the economics significantly.

Tyre noise is the main thing you notice. Without an engine, you notice road noise more. This isn’t a problem — it just takes a few days of adjustment. Everything else about the driving experience is either the same or better (instant torque, smooth acceleration, quiet cabin).

What we’d tell someone considering the switch

If your daily driving is under 50 miles, you have somewhere to charge at home or at work, and you’re in the market for a new or replacement car — strongly consider it. The experience after the initial adjustment is genuinely good. The running costs are lower. The environmental case is real.

If you do long and unpredictable drives regularly, or you have no way to charge at home, or you’re not replacing a car — don’t feel pressure to rush. The grid is getting cleaner and the cars are getting better. The calculation improves every year.

We replaced one car. It was the right call. The second one will follow when it’s ready.